It’s good to be back writing my favorite column after an extended absence.
One of the most interesting questions people ask me about baking is: “Is it a science or an art? Is a baker a scientist or an artist (artisan)?” The honest answer is, “It’s a little of both, but that depends on the bakery!” Some bakeries focus on the science of baking, while others focus on the art form.
If you visit an industrialized, production-line bakery, you will see only science. Everything is precise to the nth degree, with very little elbow room for standard deviation. Measuring of ingredients, speed of the kneading, timing, temperature control, shaping, etc., are all controlled by machine; it is baking by artificial intelligence.
There are advantages to this type of baking, especially in a factory setting. Each item has to look exactly the same, taste exactly the same, and fit in the same packaging – every time.
Imagine if a loaf of bread rolled off the production line, and it was sometimes larger and sometimes smaller; it either wouldn’t fit in or it would roll around in the bag! Production-line factories cannot function without total consistency in production, or they would lose money.
On the other hand, take a small artisan bakery, like my own, where everything is done by hand, instinct, and skill rather than automation. Even in such a setting, a certain amount of science is required. It is necessary to accurately weigh ingredients and compensate for fluctuations in climate, temperature, etc. Even an artisan bakery needs some degree of consistency in its baking; otherwise, it will have very few customers.
The difference between this and a mechanized, production-line bakery is that in an artisan bakery, no two baked items are exactly the same. Each one is slightly different in shape, coloring, the amount of sesame sprinkled on it, and more. The results of the bake in such a bakery are also highly dependent on the baker’s mood and level of concentration. If I had a dime for every time I messed up a bake…
So, which is the better bakery? That depends on you – the customer.
If you are the type of person who cannot tolerate fluctuations in your product and prefers to have the “same-old, same-old” reliability each and every time, the only bakery that will meet your needs is a scientific AI bakery. If you are the type of person who hates monotony and is open to being wowed (and also disappointed) now and again, then you will opt for an artisan bakery.
In a mechanized, production-line bakery, you will never have an occurrence of “The challahs this week were spectacular, much better than normal,” which can only happen in an artisan bakery. Similarly, in a production-line bakery, you will never have “The challahs were a little underbaked this week,” which can and does happen in an artisan bakery.
Science is very important in baking: understanding how and why things in the dough work the way they do, what chemical reactions are occurring, and how to manipulate them to improve the product. A baker with no science at all is a “hit and miss” baker. That may work in a home setting, but it cannot work in a commercial setting.
On the other hand, science is limited. Even the best scientists will tell you that science has not yet managed to completely quantify all the chemical processes going on in a dough; there are just too many variables interacting with one another at the same time.
In addition, there are other factors that science has not yet discovered. Science is an evolution of knowledge, and only arrogant scientists think they know everything there is to know.
With the recent proliferation of AI technology, I foresee production-line bakeries using AI in their manufacturing processes. For example, a bakery may manufacture baked goods in the style of other famous bakeries, like Poilâne in Paris, in the same way that it is possible to artificially generate a song using a famous singer’s voice, or graphics using a famous painter’s brush strokes.
Just like art and music, the best that AI can do is duplicate; it can never innovate. Technology has its place, not as a replacement for humans but as a tool for humans, allowing them to innovate more productively.
AI will likely be used in baking to shorten the development phase of new products by simulation rather than physical experimentation, allowing bakers to get their ideas to market more quickly than the current process. I do not believe that AI will make humans redundant. The world would be a dreary place without human brilliance and… fallibility.
As we continue to advance as a species, we still need a little of both – the “art” and the “artificial” intelligence.
Hawaiian Pineapple Bread
Refreshing bread for the hot days of summer, with a tropical twist.
- 2½ cups flour
- 2 tsp. salt
- 1 Tbsp. dry instant yeast
- 1/4 cup sugar
- Pinch of ginger
- ½ cup water
- 1 large egg
- 4 Tbsp. pureed fresh pineapple (or canned, with liquid removed)
- 4 Tbsp. oil
- ½ tsp. vanilla essence
Mix and knead for 10 minutes by hand (6 minutes in the mixer). Leave to rise covered in a bowl for 1 to 2 hours (or until doubled in size). Shape into an oval loaf and place in a bread pan. Leave to rise for another 1 to 2 hours (or until doubled in size). Bake at 180ºC for 35 to 40 minutes.
The writer, a master baker originally from Johannesburg, lives in Karnei Shomron with his wife, Sheryl, and four children. He is CEO of the Saidel Jewish Baking Center (www.jewishbakingcenter.com) and manages the Showbread Institute (www.showbreadinstitute.org).